While Chris McCain will never win an Olympic medal in the 100 meters, he did a pretty fair impression of Usain Bolt in helmet and cleats in chasing down a USC tailback last week.

The rangy Cal linebacker, all arms and legs at 6-foot-6, overcame a 5-yard deficit to prevent a touchdown on the third play of last Saturday's game when he drove Curtis McNeal out of bounds at the 4-yard line after a 62-yard gain at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Two plays later, cornerback Steve Williams intercepted Matt Barkley's pass in the end zone to not only thwart the Trojans but also reward his teammate for his dashing display of hustle.

"I had to put my head down and go get him," McCain said. "I just couldn't give up. I couldn't leave my teammates hanging. I told Steve, 'Thank you, man, that's what we needed.' "

Coach Jeff Tedford was so impressed upon seeing the play in film review Sunday that he broke off an interview with a reporter to shake McCain's hand as he headed out to practice.

"I didn't get a chance to see him in the team meeting," Tedford said in resuming the interview. "As soon as I saw him, I wanted to let him know how proud I was of him. That's a perfect example of playing all-out. He sprinted 50 yards to catch him. It was impressive."

The Bears, off to a 1-3 start, will need hustle plays like that from more than just one player when they face 3-1 Arizona State on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

A review of the play shows how impressive McCain's effort was.

USC had the ball on 3rd-and-1 at the Trojans' 34-yard line on the opening drive. From the I-formation, McNeal lined up 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage and at the snap ran forward to take the handoff from Barkley.

McCain, an outside linebacker, was over tight end Randall Telfer on the defensive right side. Telfer initially blocked McCain, but McCain shook free and circled around to his left and was in the backfield at the 33-yard line as McNeal was about to burst free at the 38.

When McNeal was at the 40, McCain had turned up field to pursue him at the 35. At the USC 45, McNeal shook off tackle attempts by Josh Hill and Kameron Jackson and juked Williams at the 50 before angling toward the left sideline.

McCain took an angle of his own from the right hash and began a full diagonal sprint with those long legs of his, passing teammate Alex Logan in the process. He caught McNeal and tackled him at the 4.

"I didn't know I was that fast," McCain said. "I'm fast, man."

As a freshman in 2011, McCain was dubbed "Gadget" by Tedford after television and movie character Inspector Gadget, because of his long arms. He played in 10 games last year, starting six, and had six tackles for losses using those long arms.

McCain has started every game his sophomore season and has 11 solo tackles (including the one of McNeal), 2 1/2 for losses and a half-sack.

If his teammates follow McCain's example, the Bears might have a shot at turning around a season that is rapidly slipping away.

"We've just got to fight. That's all we can do," McCain said. "We're trying as hard as we can. I know we are defensively. We're coming off a loss. We don't feel good about it. We're going to have everybody sprint to the ball."